Lost Odyssey Interview

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More details on Mistwalker's second.

By Erik Brudvig

For an RPG that is coming out later this year, details have remained scarce on Lost Odyssey. We recently saw a brief demo of several combat areas and learned a bit more about the immortal hero Kaim at E3, but to say we know what to expect out of this highly anticipated RPG is the understatement of the year. To squeeze a few more details out, we sent Ray Nakazato, President of feelplus Inc., a list of questions. Feelplus, as a reminder for those that recall Mistwalker as the developer for Lost Odyssey, is the dev team created as a subsidiary of Microsoft to aid the small Mistwalker studio.

IGN: From what we've played of Blue Dragon, it takes a while to pick up the pace in terms of story and how open the game is. Will the same be true of Lost Odyssey or will the pacing be different?

Ray Nakazato: The pacing will be very different. We are not disclosing how it will be, as we are still tuning and balancing many aspects.

IGN: Is the game a linear experience or will we find many branching quests and optional side stories? Will there be multiple endings to the game?

Ray Nakazato: The basic story in linear with a single ending, but there will be side quests to partake in.

IGN: We've been told that the game takes place during a brief portion of the immortal Kaim's life. What makes this part of his life so special that it is the focus of the game?

Ray Nakazato: 30 years ago, a new power manifested itself unto the world. With its discovery came the Magical Industrial Revolution. This power came to be called "Magic Energy."

Even now, there are none who can explain why this power - a power that merely lay buried within all living creatures - suddenly flourished as it did. Today, this Magic Energy permeates every corner of the world. It has changed the way people live, transformed the shape of industry and has even altered the nature of war.

IGN: How much does Kaim's past play into the game?

Ray Nakazato: There will be many short episodes that elaborate on the past 1000 years of Kaim's life in the form of dreams. Players will understand Kaim more and more as they view these episodes.

IGN: How are you keeping the combat interesting with an immortal as the main character?

Ray Nakazato: When an immortal's hit points (HP) reach zero, they fall down for a few turns and then eventually recover after a few turns. If everyone in your party is down, the game will be over.

IGN: What is the time setting in the world of Lost Odyssey? Many of the settings looked futuristic while others reminded us more of feudal times.

Ray Nakazato: We don't have a particular time setting as the world of Lost Odyssey does not take place on Earth.

IGN: Some of the character design is reminiscent of Final Fantasy. What sets Lost Odyssey apart from that series?

Ray Nakazato: It is completely a new design, but we have a few concept artists who formerly worked on the Final Fantasy series.

IGN: Have you run into any difficulties translating Lost Odyssey into English prior to the game's completion in Japan in preparation for a worldwide release?

Ray Nakazato: No, our visual director is an American and is a Hollywood veteran. He creates excellent English cut-scenes. In addition, Microsoft's support on multi-lingual production is excellent.

IGN: Who is performing the English voice acting? Are there any famous voices we might recognize from other games?

Ray Nakazato: All the voice-overs in Lost Odyssey are performed by professional voice actors. We recorded all English voices in Los Angeles.

IGN: Will we still have the option to listen to the Japanese voice acting as we will in Blue Dragon?

Ray Nakazato: This is still being determined.

IGN: Why is Lost Odyssey sticking to old-school turn based combat systems rather than trying to add something new to keep things fresh?

Ray Nakazato: For this particular title and its fans, we felt that a traditional game mechanism would be best.

IGN: We saw some basic elemental attacks at E3 this year. Will there be any more awe-inspiring spell effects such as large scale summons?

Ray Nakazato: There will be many more magical effects, but you'll have to wait for the details.